Rescue flight with 206 Israelis on board takes off from Nigeria

A plane carrying 206 Israeli nationals took off from the Nigerian capital of Abuja Sunday as the African country and its neighboring countries closed their borders due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The rescue flight was organized by the Israeli Embassy, and Air Peace Airlines that was supposed to operate a line of direct commercial flights between Nigeria and Israel in March. The initiative was postponed due to the virus outbreak.

The rescue flight will pass over Chad, Sudan, and Egypt in the shortest route to Israel.

There were also four Israelis on board the plane who arrived from Abidjan, Ivory Coast on a private flight organized by the country's Israeli embassy.